My motivation to write this book resulted from my observation of phenomenal life-changing improvements people experienced after acquiring the basic concepts illustrated in this presentation. I have practiced family medicine in my home state, Mississippi, for the last ten years. Prior to practicing as a family physician, I had the opportunity to experience many life lessons that taught me the concepts that I have shared directly with patients and the general public during public speaking engagements, television and radio interviews, and print publications in various papers and magazines. There have been many other presentation opportunities in social media. I strongly believe that everyone has a purpose, and getting the opportunity to fulfill it is the greatest fulfillment of ones' life. Over the years, my purpose has evolved from increasing health awareness to increasing self-awareness. I have been delightfully enlightened to learn that when you are self-aware, your overall actions will change to give you better health, better finances, better relationships, and an overall better life for you and your loved ones.
The constant theme of the concepts discussed in this book involves self-awareness, and understanding that we can positively impact many life scenarios. In many instances, we unfortunately accept conditions that are less than optimal. We don't take steps to improve the unfavorable situations, because we don't believe that we can do anything to achieve improvement. With the explanations illustrated via factual accounts of my life and the lives of people I have observed, the reader will better understand the "I can" thought process. The first step of becoming fully aware of the situation and all the factors involved is most important. Once you understand your position and the consequences of not acting--or acting in a way that will not improve the situation--you can act effectively to change the situation for the better! My advice is to try not to get too excited as you discover how to reach your true potential, and live the life that you have always deserved.

Many of my childhood memories are as clear today as when they happened. Many of these memorable events change our lives by influencing our way of thinking, and play a large part in the development of who we are. A person's thought process has the largest controlled impact on their life. We cannot control our genetics or the financial status of our parents, but we can control how we react to life's challenges. If someone has a strong genetic predisposition to a specific medical condition, this cannot be controlled. This same individual can, however, control how they react to this potential problem. An example would be a person with a strong family history of diabetes, with complications to include a parent that may have gone blind or lost a limb due to this condition being poorly controlled. This same individual may choose to aggressively adhere to a healthy diet and exercise program. This person may develop diabetes despite his positive lifestyle, but have it controlled with oral medications with no complications. This person may not have to take insulin, and develop complications due to a poor lifestyle with bad food choices and a lack of exercise. The same scenario can occur with a person with a strong family history of cancer avoiding terminal cancer by choosing to get timely cancer screenings. This could theoretically include a lady whose mother died of breast cancer that was diagnosed late. This lady could potentially get a mammogram, and receive a diagnosis and treatment if the mammogram is positive before the cancer can spread, avoiding a premature death. We can choose to act in every aspect of our lives to impact the outcome of most situations for the better.

When I reflect on my childhood, and memorable occurrences that helped me develop an empowered belief in my ability to change unfavorable situations, I feel encouraged. For many people, a lack of act